PPE and Sanitation Supplies for Departmental Use – Campus Departments and Campus Clinics

Posted June 25, 2020 in Contracts, Financial Services, P2P, Stores.

Purchasing, along with General Stores and Receiving, have been partnering to source scarce PPE and sanitizer items for departmental purchase.  Currently stocked are:

  • Hand Sanitizer – sizes 4 oz to 1 gal
  • Disinfecting wipes and sprays
  • Procedure masks
  • Face covering, reusable
  • Face shields
  • Nitrile gloves
  • Touchless thermometers
  • Other PPE related supplies

We anticipate that many of these items will continue to be in short supply with wildly varied pricing and will have vendor allocations this year.  Multiple buyers have worked tirelessly to obtain the best prices currently available. 

Prior to returning to campus, we recommend that you order soon or during July to allow for allocations or items temporarily out of stock.  

For orders placed with General Stores, please ensure someone is available to receive orders in your department or place the order for WILL CALL at General Stores. WILL CALL orders should be picked up within 5 days of order.  

Please contact General Stores directly if you would like to place an order.  Some items may not currently be available; however, we will actively source and fill orders as soon as possible.  If there are PPE items you would like to purchase that aren’t currently stocked, please call to discuss.

General Stores Contact Information:

New Face Coverings Contracts and Procedure Masks

The University has options available for the purchase of reusable face coverings and procedure masks.  

General Stores has both reusable face coverings and disposable 3 ply procedure masks in stock and available for purchase by departments.  Campus Store has face coverings available for retail sale. 

There are new university wide multiple award contracts available to order reusable face coverings with or without logos.

Available face coverings have ear loops or ties, are washable a minimum of 25 times, have a minimum of 2 layers, and include a variety of sizes.

The vendors awarded in the logo category are compliant with CLC licensing regulations.

Vendors awarded have price breaks for large quantity orders and established lead times.

Please visit the contract directory and look for the icon titled ‘Face Coverings’ or contact the contract manager for more detailed information. 

Patti Service:  pservice@purchasing.utah.edu, 801-587-3894

LOGO Face Coverings – BSN Sports, Kotis Design, and 007 Marketing.

Non-Logo Face Coverings – Kotis Design, Kalci Soccer LLC, 007 Marketing, LXG Inc., and RN Wellness.

Facilities Hygiene FAQs

The FAQs provided by Facilities identify several hygiene topics and provide guidance on what service custodians will provide, what is being asked of everyone, and how to get help if there are concerns.

Faculty and Staff Resources for Returning to Campus

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Fiscal Year-End Closing Information and Dates

Posted June 22, 2020 in Financial Services.

All individuals responsible for Management Reports should carefully review their statements between now and the first part of July to identify any corrections or adjustments, which should be reflected in the statement for the month of June. Suggested items to be examined are:

  1. Are asset and liability balances supported by detailed listings or other documentation? If not, adjust the balances to agree with the documentation. Documentation for all balance sheet balances at June 30 (except Accounts 10500, 11000 thru 12099, 20099, and 30000) must be submitted to Financial Reporting & Accounting no later than July 15th. Any undocumented balances may be written off against Fund Balance. Questions regarding this documentation requirement should be directed to the Accountant listed at the bottom of your Management Reports
  2. Are expenditures shown in the proper Activity or Project and in accordance with any restrictions?
  3. Do revenues, as recorded, represent all revenues earned?
  4. Are transactions recorded in the proper Account code?
  5. Are the outstanding obligations correct?

See Full Memo With All Year-End Deadlines Here

Important Note: Departments need to pick up their campus mail at Print & Mail Services.

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Changes to eJournal (eJE) and Management Reports for new BU 06

Posted June 4, 2020 in Financial Reporting and Accounting, Financial Services.

Beginning Fiscal Year 2021, the University of Utah “Utah Health Plans” will begin to book transactions with data in 3 new ChartFields. “Product,” “Group,” and “Place” will provide more granular data to ease complex analysis of this growing business segment in the University Hospital. Although these new ChartFields will only be available in the new Business Unit (BU) 06, these changes have required significant changes to the underlying tables.

Updates will be made to the Peoplesoft system on Saturday, June 6, 2020. System will be unavailable during these updates. See information about the outage from UIT:

PeopleSoft Financial Maintenance on June 6

Beginning Sunday, June 7, 2020, the new ChartFields will be available and campus users will notice significant changes to eJournal (eJE). eJE users are encouraged to review the following PDF outlining these changes and instructions to utilize new upload functionality. Current “upload template” processes have been re-written to address BU06 and JAVA changes. Users will have to learn how to use the new “upload template” beginning June 7, 2020. eJE users will find the information they need in this PDF:

e Journal Presentation

Campus users may also notice minor changes to the Management Reports application with options to pull transactions to be booked in the new BU 06.

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PPE and Sanitization Supplies

Posted May 26, 2020 in Financial Services.

Purchasing, along with General Stores and Receiving, have been partnering to source procedure masks, face-covering style masks, nitrile gloves, wipes, touchless thermometers, hand sanitizer as well as other pandemic related supplies. We anticipate that many of these items will continue to be in short supply and will have vendor allocations this year.

For orders placed with General Stores, please ensure someone is available to receive orders in your department or place the order for WILL CALL at General Stores so you can pick it up within 5 days of placing an order.  

Due to short supplies, we request at this time that ordering be limited to labs and departments returning to campus during Project Orange.  

Please contact General Stores directly if you would like to place an order.  Some items may not currently be available, however, we will actively source and fill orders as soon as possible. If there are PPE items you would like to purchase that aren’t currently stocked, please call to discuss.

Welcome back to those who are returning to campus. 

General Stores 

Ordering Email:  csr@stores.utah.edu

Website: https://fbs.admin.utah.edu/stores/

Phone: 801-581-8671

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Vice President (or designee) Approval Required on Expenditures Exceeding $10,000

Posted May 7, 2020 in Procurement and Supply Management, UShop.

In response to the directive dated April 29, 2020, issued to the President’s Leadership Council from President Watkins and Senior VPs Reed and Good (read here), the Purchasing Department has implemented new procedures and processes to address required vice presidential approval for expenditures exceeding $10,000.00.

To adhere to this directive, all in-process and newly received UShop requisitions with a value greater than $10,000, regardless of origination date, will require written cognizant vice presidential or designee approval prior to being processed.

Purchasing Department buyers will contact requisitioning departments to obtain the required written approval for all in-process requisitions received prior to this new directive. Newly received affected requisitions will be reviewed for proper written vice presidential or designee approval. Requisitions exceeding $10,000 in value not accompanied by written approval will be held until written approval is received. Requisitions denied approval will be returned to the requisitioning department. If an exception to the directive has been issued by a vice president, a copy of such should be submitted with the requisition.

Questions regarding the $10,000 written approval directive or possible exceptions should be addressed with the business officer(s) within your reporting area. Purchasing Department buyers should be contacted for requisition-specific questions.

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Q3 FY 2020 UMV for Endowment Projections

Posted May 1, 2020 in Endowment & Investment Accounting, Financial Reporting and Accounting.

The ending quarter endowment pool unit market value (UMV) for March 31, 2020, is $196.72 per unit. This information is necessary for Method 2 of projecting endowment income and is provided quarterly through FS News. All other factors in the instructions remain the same through the fiscal year. For detailed instructions on how to project endowment income, please click here. The instructions are available there now for fiscal year 2020-2021.

 

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COVID-19 Procedures for Income Accounting & Student Loan Services

Posted April 20, 2020 in Financial Services.

While there are several employees working from home, Income Accounting and Student Loan Services has a skeletal group working on campus to process departmental deposits and prepare bank deposits, make change orders, prepare refunds, and assist students or staff. 

Departmental deposits are still being processed.  You may drop them off at Income Accounting & Student Loan Services between 8:00am to 4:45pm.  Please arrive before 4:45pm to make sure you can enter the building before it is locked up, and please enter the building using the north-east door located on the 1st level on the north end of the building.  Below are the different ways to deliver deposits, depending on the type of deposit.  For all deposits, please include a copy of the approved Departmental Deposit form, and the cash, coin, check, or non-cash back-up, all in an envelope or bag.

Departmental deposits should be signed by the approver before submitting to be processed, however, during this time, if you cannot have the approver sign the actual form, please have the approver send a separate email approving the departmental deposit, along with the form reference (DR) number, to:   deptdeposits@income.utah.edu

PLEASE ENSURE THAT ALL CASH, COIN, AND CHECKS ARE DEPOSITED WITHIN 3 BUSINESS DAYS.

CASH and COIN DEPOSITS:

  • All cash and coin deposits must include a copy of the Departmental Deposit form, and be delivered directly to the department located in the Student Services Building, room 165.  There is a drop vault located next to the door on the north side of the building.

CHECK DEPOSITS:

Check deposits may be delivered 3 different ways and must include a copy of the Departmental Deposit form, and all supporting documentation:

Check deposits may be delivered directly to the department located in the Student Services Building, room 165.  There is a drop vault located next to the door on the north side of the building.

Check only deposits may be mailed directly to the department:

Income Accounting & Student Loan Services

University of Utah

201 South 1460 East Rm 165

Salt Lake City, Utah 84112

  • Check deposits may be delivered to Income Accounting by armored car, if your department has this service.

NON-CASH DEPOSITS- CREDIT CARD, WIRE, DEPOSIT SLIPS FOR MONEY PREVIOUSLY DEPOSITED:

  • Non-Cash deposits may be delivered 4 different ways and must include a copy of the Departmental Deposit form, and all supporting documentation:
    • Deposits may be delivered directly to the department, located in the Student Services Building, room 165.  There is a drop vault located next to the door on the north side of the building.
    • Deposits may be mailed directly to the department (address above)
  • Deposits may be delivered to Income Accounting by armored car, if your department has this service.
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Delivery of University Purchased Property to an Employee’s Home Address

Posted April 3, 2020 in Financial Services.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, building closures, and resulting telecommuting for many University employees, a temporary exception has been made to the policy restriction for delivery of University orders to a non-University address. Orders delivered to an employee’s home or other personal address are not to exceed $500. This temporary exception will be rescinded when University administration determines a return to regular business operations.  Property is to be returned to the department once regular business operations resume. Ordering processes including approval controls are briefly mentioned below:

PCard

  • Written authorization from the department Director, Chair, or PCard Account Executive is to be submitted prior to the purchase.  Include the employee’s name and the vendor.  Approvals will be emailed to pcard@purchasing.utah.edu
  • A Request to Use University Property Off Campus form is to be completed.  The employee receiving the off-campus delivery is to complete the form and provide it to their management when feasible.
  • Complete details will be provided by submitting a request for information to the PCard email address above. 

UShop

Option A: Ship to Stores and Receiving for Will Call

  • This guide has been created which outlines the process to be followed.
  • If the order is for University property, a Request to Use University Property Off Campus form is to be completed. The employee receiving the property for use at home is to complete the form and provide it to their management when feasible.
  • Orders routed to Stores and Receiving for Will Call which will be taken to the department can be for any dollar amount.

Option B: Ship to University Print & Mail and reroute to a home address

  • This guide has been created which outlines the process to be followed.
  • If the order is for University property, a Request to Use University Property Off Campus form is to be completed. The employee receiving the off-campus delivery is to complete the form and provide it to their management when feasible.
  • Additional requisition approvals are required for these orders.
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COVID-19: How FBS is Helping Campus Continue Business

Posted March 31, 2020 in Financial Services and tagged , .

Financial and Business Services has been working hard to accommodate the business needs of our campus users during this time of Stay at Home orders and in consideration of Social Distancing. Below, by department, you can read of these temporary changes to procedures that will be in place until we can return to a normal campus environment. We will send additional updates when necessary.

Accounts Payable

We continue to process payments in Accounts Payable, but social distancing has required significant changes to procedures on transactions involving physical invoices, paper checks, etc. 

Electronic processing and payment methods like ePR, UShop, and direct deposit will continue on a daily schedule but checks will be printed only twice per week.  Also, the Park Building is effectively closed so checks will not be held for pickup and must be mailed instead. 

Please use the email address ap@admin.utah.edu to send invoices electronically or to ask about anything related to making a payment. 

Accounts Payable: Temporary Exception to Ink Signature Requirement

An electronic signature or e–signature is defined by the ESIGN Act as, “an electronic sound, symbol, or process, attached to or logically associated with a contract or other record and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record.”  Basic electronic signatures, such as an image of a wet signature copied onto a document, are legally binding but they don’t strongly indicate the intent of the signer or the integrity of the document.  

Digital signatures on the other hand, use a trusted third party and cryptography to guarantee the integrity of the document and to better demonstrates the intent of all parties to sign.  The trusted third party is required to generate, store, verify and guarantee digital signatures.  There are many digital signature services providers available.  Without them, even cryptographically generated signatures don’t cover all of the requirements of a digital signature.

For low-risk transactions (under $5,000) electronic signatures will be accepted while social distancing is in effect.  Once the University of Utah campus returns normal operations, we will again require wet signatures or digital signatures where appropriate.

As always, the best way to ensure a good outcome is to know and understand the party that you are working with and document your communications and interactions.

  1. Check their history through personal knowledge, references, Google search, etc.
  2. Review their business license, professional credentials, reputation, years of experience, etc.
  3. Ensure that they will not have access to U of U health protected, intellectual, proprietary or other confidential information.
  4. Order a criminal background check if required by U of U Minors on Campus policy (Link) or other applicable U policy.
  5. Determined that there are no conflicts of interest. 

For transactions over $5,000 a wet signature or fully compliant and verifiable digital signature is still required.

Travel & Reimbursement Services

UTravel Concur & ePR Transactions: These systems are completely electronic and have been running without significant disruption.

Paper Legacy Reimbursements/Documentation: We are all working remotely, so please do not send paper to our office at this time. Please submit requests using this web form. For more detailed information regarding these procedures, refer to this post dated March 19, 2020. If paper was enroute in the last couple of weeks, you can use the ASK US form and we will help you determine if you will have to re-submit your request using the web form.

UTravel Concur Conversion: We have learned through this COVID-19 experience the value of a system like Concur, and we are thrilled that much of our campus has already discovered the advantages! For those who are still using the Legacy Travel System; we encourage you to review the online training materials and request set-up in the UTravel system.

UTravel Concur Training/Deadline for Conversion: We have cancelled all in-person training through the end of May, 2020. Due to this unforeseen disruption, we will not be able to meet our goal to convert our campus to the new UTravel Concur system on May 22nd. We will publish a new date when we better understand when travel will resume.

Out-of-Pocket for a cancelled trip during the Travel Ban? For reimbursements related to cancelled trips, we will require this form to better document how credits may or may not be applied to future trips. For more detailed information, please refer to this post dated March 19, 2020. This is a temporary procedure meant to help departments identify and track these unusual expenses.

Please submit an ASK US form if you have additional questions.

Purchasing

Purchasing, PCard, UShop, and Contracts employees are working remotely and fully functional.  Please feel free to email or call staff members directly for assistance or you may call Purchasing’s main number at 801-581-7241.  Although there are a limited number of personnel working on-site Monday to Friday and you may call the office to make an appointment if an on-site visit is necessary.  If you need your PCard, please email PCard@purchasing.utah.edu.  The PCard staff will assist you in a way that best meets the demands of the situation.

Deliveries to Campus

With many employees working from home, freight companies are facing challenges delivering packages.  The information provided below is the current status, however, things are fluid and changing rapidly.  As warehouses reach capacity they may be keeping packages for shorter periods of time or make other policies.  If your department has shipments on order with future delivery dates and your facility is not open for deliveries, you will need to contact the shipping company with the tracking number to redirect or make arrangements to pick the package up within the stated time period.  Please contact the vendor/sender for the delivery tracking number if that was not provided in a shipping confirmation email that some vendors send. 

UPS 1-800-pickups

UPS will hold packages for closed businesses for 9 days.  On the 10th day, if the company is still closed, the package will be returned to the shipper.  You may call UPS if you have the tracking number and redirect to another campus address that is open.  If the shipper has a block on redirecting packages as some do for security reasons (cell phones, computers, and high value items) they will not be able to redirect.

FedEx 1-800-GO-FEDEX

FedEx will hold packages for 5-15 days for closed businesses.  They ask that you call with your tracking number to redirect to another address on campus that is open.  Some packages may not be redirected for security reasons.

US Postal Service – Foothill Branch – 801-583-3629

General Stores, Shipping and Receiving

General Stores remains open.  Items can be ordered through the traditional methods on their website at https://fbs.admin.utah.edu/stores/. Delivery or Will Call (with parameters) is available. 

Shipping and Receiving:  Due to vacant offices and labs it has become very difficult for Central Receiving to make your deliveries.  Please help us help you by having someone in your building designated to receive your packages. In the current situation, that is the most efficient method from the Shipping and Receiving perspective.  Call 801-581-7409.

As a temporary exception and as a service to departments, packages may be shipped to Receiving for Will Call pick-up.  For instructions when using UShop to place an order and listing the shipping address as Stores and Receiving, please contact the UShop team at:  801-585-2255. An instructional guide has been created that will be emailed. It is critical that your name, a phone number, and “Hold for Will Call” be placed on the shipping label.  These items must be retrieved from Receiving, at 253 USB, within 5 business days.  Receiving’s hours are 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM Monday to Friday.  The entrance is by the dock area on the north side of the building.  Stores and Receiving do not accept responsibility for loss or damage for items shipped for Will Call pickup.  A UCARD ID is required when retrieving your shipment.

Surplus

University Surplus and Salvage Department remains operational with some limitations.  Retail sales to the public closed on Monday, March 23, 2020. Other aspects of the department are open.  

  • Online surplus sales through govdeals.com will continue
  • Pickup of property from departments will continue and can be scheduled by appointment. 

Please complete the online work order request at https://fbs.admin.utah.edu/surplus/for-departments/work-order/ or email surplus@utah.edu for other information about a pickup request.
*departments may email surplus@utah.edu for appointments to purchase property.

Research Management and Compliance

Cost Transfer Submittal During University Mandatory Work-at-home

During the time while University employees are working from home as part of the University’s effort to help minimize the spread of COVID-19, Grants and Contracts Accounting continues to work and go about the day-to-day accounting routines.  For submitting cost transfers, the following temporary guidance is provided to help mitigate the difficulty of obtaining “wet signatures” on the cost transfer form.

Unless otherwise extended, GCA will accept cost transfers under this process until May 31, 2020 or the University lifts the mandatory work-at-home requirement, whichever occurs first.  If the mandatory work-at-home requirement extends beyond May 31, 2020, an extension beyond this date will be considered and a notice sent out for any extended date.

Non-Personal Expense Cost Transfers:

Non-personal cost transfers can be submitted as an eJournal Entry with the following conditions:

  • The cost transfer paperwork MUST be completed as normal, per the Non-Personal Cost Transfer Checklist, except for the requirement for signatures and sending in the original CT documentation.
  • The department will create an eJournal Entry and add persons (PI, Dept. Chair, and Cognizant Dean, etc.) normally required to sign the CT as eJ approvers and also verify the eJ adds the responsible GCA person for the sponsored award as an approver.
  • The department will scan and upload all the CT paperwork/documentation to the eJ.
  • GCA will print off the scanned CT documentation for review and then approve/disapprove of the CT as per normal procedures.

Personal (Payroll) Expense Cost Transfers:

Personal (Payroll) Cost Transfers will be processed as normal with the exception of signatures and the original documentation being submitted to GCA.  Approvals must still be obtained, but GCA will temporarily accept either (1) an email stating approval of the CT (email response must include the CT# and the dollar amount of the CT), (2) a scanned signature on the CT form, or (3) a digital signature (Digital ID in Adobe Acrobat) applied to the CT form.

  • Once ALL required approvals are obtained by the department, the department can scan and send a completed copy of the CT (per the CT checklist) to kevin.yu@admin.utah.edu for processing.

GCA will review and approve/disapprove of the CT as per normal procedures.

Tax Services and Payroll Accounting

Tax Services and Payroll Accounting employees are working remotely and fully functional.  Please feel free to email or call staff members directly for assistance or you may call Tax Services and Payroll Accounting’s main number at 801-581-3428 or fax at 801-587-9855.  See our department contact list here.

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Select Market Conditions Updates

Posted March 12, 2020 in P2P, Procurement and Supply Management and tagged .

Medical Supplies

Many types of facemasks, antiseptics and other Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) medical supply items are in limited supply and contracted vendors are allocating, placing items on backorder, or rejecting orders. Some vendors are not allowing new customers at this time.

If you need to contact your medical supply sales rep, and don’t have their contact information, contact the buyer, Aimee Elliott (801-581-4200), in Purchasing. Efforts are being made to locate additional supplies and information will be provided when available.

General Stores is receiving priority on limited supplies of PPE’s due to their large quantity buying power and relationship with vendors. You may call 801-581-8671 or place an order or via their website

Computers (laptops)

There have been several disruptions to the computer supply chain the past several months including component shortages and limitations for products sourced from China. With the advent of Covid-19, supplies on laptops are dwindling rapidly and production lead times are increasing. It is anticipated that availability will continue to deteriorate rapidly so ordering soon is highly encouraged. There are several contract providers in UShop including CDW-G, Dell, HP and SHI International. Special pricing on Dell Computers are also available on the Valcom (VLCM) Computer Purchase Requisition in UShop. CDW-G sells premade computers stocked in their warehouse. Other suppliers also have State contracts. For assistance with computer orders, departments can contact University Campus Computer Support at 801-581-4000. Non-technical questions can also be directed to the buyer, Trent Blair at 801-581-6859.

UTech at the Campus Store currently has standard models of Apple and Microsoft Surface computers available for purchase. Any custom or special orders on any brand are 2-3 weeks out. We recommend that all departments in need of more computers for the transition to online-only classes place their orders with us sooner rather than later, as we expect a large portion of our available inventory to be purchased. For most departments, we recommend sticking with the standard models of any brand. These computers will meet almost every department’s needs and they can be shipped much faster than any custom configurations.

Please feel free to reach out to UTech at 801-581-4776 or Alex Khan at akhan@campusstore.utah.edu with any questions at all!

Any Order Placed for Delivery Direct to a Department

Departments are responsible to ensure receipt of delivery for orders to be delivered directly to the department. Orders may also be addressed for delivery to Central Receiving, 1795 E. South Campus Drive, Room 253, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112. A contact name or PO number should be included with the delivery information. The order will then be made to the department by Central Receiving. General Stores and Central Receiving will remain open. With questions contact 801-581-8671.

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